Parsis have played an important role in the Hong Kong’s history since the time of its founding (the Treaty of Nanking, which ceded Hong Kong to the British, was signed on a ship called the Cornwallis which was built in a Parsi-owned shipyard in Mumbai). Eve. Today, reminders of this aspect of the city’s history are to be seen in street names like Mody Road and Kotwall Road; then there are buildings
like this one:
But the most poignant memorial is the Parsi cemetery,
which is right beside
the Hindu Temple, in Happy Valley.
Founded a decade after the island was colonized by the British
the cemetery is beautifully maintained
a haven of tranquility in the busy city.
The gravestones
speak of long journeys
many of them undertaken in the 19th century
soon after the city’s founding.
One more of your insightful journey….I did not know parsees were buried after life…very interesting…in fact, sir, I find burial ground great places to find history…and I often visit the Park Street Cemetery in Kolkata which gives me a new name to research on every time I visit…I am sure you have visited there as well I would be wonderful if you could write a piece on it to enrich us with you insights on the place. Thanks again as I
continue reading!
It is indeed a wonderful reminder of the fact that a small but enterprising community can create such impact on fuftre of a city ( cities if we also include Mumbai). My interest in parsi history was fired as I read the Ibis trilogy. Would love to visit the city and learn more…planning navasari visit soon….